Silent Movement
by Stargazer1
Summary: Grizabella loves perfect things, even if her life is not perfect.. But when her kitten is not perfect, she abandonds the entire litter. The non perfect kitten is Victoria, and this is her story. Chp 3 Up!
1. Gentle Falling Rain

Author Notes/Disclaimer: I do not own CATS. I've gotten this idea from the CATS forum board so I do not claim this as my original idea, just my own perspective on the idea.

AN 2009: I have edited this chapter just a little, but not too much… It has been a while but with seeing the tour this year I'm back in my CATS spirit and will hopefully finish, or get a lot written on a lot of my CATS fics…

Chapter One: Gentle Falling Rain.

A gentle breeze settled over the junkyard. The full moon was bright and dominate in the sky, you had no choice but to look at its presence. In the silence of the night, there was a wrestling down in the junkyard. A plump figure sprinted to the oven entering it swiftly. A tattered old queen lay on her side, her plump belly heaving up and down. Her breath was heavy as she laid, her body shaking. The plump queen knelt down next to the tattered queen.

"Are you alright Grizabella?" she asked softly, placing her hand on the queen's arm. Grizabella's misty eyes closed tight, the pain getting worse. She looked up at the plump queen and gave a shaky nod.

"Thank you for helping me," she began, speaking softly. "The others wouldn't understand." She finished. She gave a gasp, putting her hands on her bulging stomach. The plump queen tried to calm her down, stroking her head, talking to her to get her through the labor, it had been a while since Grizabella had her last litter of kittens. She had been surprised when she found out she was having another one. The queen delivered three healthy kittens, one tom and two females. The male and the second female seemed to give a cry, but the middle one seemed to make no noise at all. It went from a black and white tom, a white queen, and a light gray base queen with tabby stripes. Grizabella decided to name them, from oldest to youngest, Mistoffelees, Victoria, and Etcetera.

~*~

Two months went by and Grizabella had decided for an abandoned warehouse to be her home. She sat upon a box as she watched her children play. This made her happy. They had just begun to talk and hearing their glees of joy made her extremely happy.

Etcetera's blue eyes looked around; mischief seemed to come to life in them as she looked. She began to stalk a mouse, desire to catch it in her eyes. In the middle of the warehouse Victoria sat playing with some old toys her mother had brought her from what she had found in the dumpster. Mistoffelees was next to her, playing with a blue star ball, rolling around. Victoria just played with her toys, ignoring her littermates' crazy antics. Her brother rolled all the way to his mother Grizabella and back to his white sister. Etcetera had stopped stalking her food and began to giggle. Grizabella smiled at her son who let go of the ball. Grizabella gave a soft smile to her kittens. Yet she noticed something strange, Victoria was just playing with her toys, ignoring it all.  
"Victoria, please, come here." called Grizabella. Victoria didn't even look up. Grizabella's ear twitched a bit. She didn't like it when her children didn't listen to her, like all parents.

"Victoria, come here now!" she called yet again. Victoria's ears twitched and she looked up but looked back down. "Mistoffelees get your sister." Her face was now beginning to show signs of anger. Mistoffelees looked at his sister.

"Vi'toria, Vi'toria, mum 'ants you." Mistoffelees said softly. Victoria just played with her toys quietly. Mistoffelees looked up at his mother and shrugged. Grizabella got up, jumping off the box, and made her way towards Victoria.

"Victoria, listen to me!" she exclaimed her voice echoing throughout the warehouse. Victoria looked up, and smiled at her mother like nothing had happened, like she had been listening the whole time. "Why didn't you answer me?" Grizabella asked. Victoria just watched a smile on her face. "Victoria I'm telling you if you don't say anything…"she growled. Victoria just tilted her head; her face began to change at the sight of Grizabella's upset and angry look. The anger on Grizabella's face dropped and a frightened look replaced it just as it fell. She looked at her daughter who had just been watching her lips, not knowing what she was saying at all. Victoria's smile was happy, buy her eyes seem to sense something was wrong with her mother but was not sure what it was. Grizabella began to breathe a bit heavy, realizing what was wrong with her daughter. "You're…you're…" she said, too afraid to finish her sentence. "deaf…"she added with a whisper.

Victoria tilted her head, a confused look on her face. Her child was deaf. So many thoughts ran through her head. What would the others say when she moved on that her child was deaf? What would they call her if they knew she had a handicapped child? How would they treat her child because of that? Grizabella was a queen who loved everything perfect, even if her life wasn't. She glared at her handicapped child. Victoria moved forward to give her mother a hug, reading the distress on her mother's face and felt like comforting her. Grizabella recoiled and slapped Victoria away. Victoria tumbled to the floor and skidded to a stop, a soft cry escaping her mouth. Grizabella looked at Victoria and gasped. Two pools of sky blue were glossy as they looked up at her. Grizabella seemed to shake. Her child… She had slapped her child… Etcetera was next to Victoria, helping her up. Mistoffelees looked at his mother, her misty eyes looking away.

"Mum, mum why did you do dat?" asked Mistoffelees, confused as he looked at his mother.

Grizabella began to shake. She should have noticed this sooner. Grizabella looked away from her children, her eyes cast down. She had hurt her child for being deaf... But she couldn't live with a handicapped child... She had a reputation of giving birth to perfect children... Perfect. Demeter for example... She was perfect, beautiful and brilliant... That is what Macavity saw in her. Grizabella closed her eyes at the thought of Macavity. She looked at her children. What would happen if he found out that she had three new children... Would he go after them? He wouldn't go after Mistoffelees for he was male. He might go for Etcetera... but Victoria? No... He wouldn't go for her... She wasn't perfect... If she wasn't perfect, then none of them were. If there was one bad pup, to her they were all bad. She glanced at her kittens and knew what she had to do...

~*~

That night a storm decided to settle in, as it was relaying to the earlier events it seemed. The rain seemed to echo and bounced off the top of the warehouse as the thunder echoes off the roof as well. The lightning flashed and four silhouettes were cast onto one of the walls of the warehouse. The four figures made their way out into the pouring rain, their bodies soaked right as they stepped out. As they walked the wind howled, howled to them to turn back, howled at them for disturbing the night at that time. They howled because they broke the path between the rain and the road. They made their way slowly to an entrance in the wood and all four of them disappeared. Several minutes later there were crying into the night and then nothing at all. Only one figure emerged from the entrance and made their way into the night...

In the morning there was a gentle drizzle and a golden queen entered the junkyard. She smoothed out her fur as she walked. She noticed an unusual mass on the tire and walked over to it. She looked at it and there seemed to be three lumps under the big black plastic cover. She pulled it away and gasped.

"Jennyanydots! Jenny!" shouted the cream colored queen. A plump queen emerged from a heap of junk.

"What is it?" she asked. The queen pointed to the three lumps and Jennyanydots gasped. It was Grizabella's children...


	2. A New Home

Chapter 2: A New Home

Jennyanydots looked at the three lumps of fur all huddled together under the black plastic cover. Why were they here? They shouldn't be in the junkyard; they should be with their mother. Jennyanydots bit the inside of her mouth. Had she abandoned the poor little things? Jennyanydots approached the kittens and gently shook them.

"Little ones, little ones please wake up," she cooed softly. Mistoffelees eyes slowly opened, his eyes dilating due to the light. His eyes fell upon Jennyanydots and he shot up, hissing and his fur on edge, his claws ready. He stood in front of his sisters and hissed.

"Settle down little one, we found you," Jennyanydots said softly. Jellylorum gave a nod as she approached Mistoffelees.

"Honestly kitten, we aren't here to hurt you, we are here to help you and your litter mates." explained Jellylorum. Mistoffelees settled down, relaxing. His blue eyes turned between the two elder jellicles.

"Where is mummy?" he asked, his voice small and squeaky. Jennyanydots rubbed his head gently.

"We don't know. Do you know where she went?" Mistoffelees thought for a moment and shook his head.

"No, I remember her taking us here. I didn't want her to go, me and my sisters both… She seemed upset at my sis Vi'toria… She wouldn't listen to mummy and that made her mad… It began to rain and I remember crying out for her… me and Cettie were crying for her… Vi'toria just lay there, she seemed very unhappy!" explained Mistoffelees. Jennyanydots smiled, and this made Mistoffelees smile. "Did I help?"

"Yes son, you did." said Jellylorum. "Get your sisters up and we will be right back." Jellylorum grabbed Jennyanydots and dragged her away from the kittens. "They were abandoned Jenny." Jennyanydots gave a nod.

"I see that… Poor things…"

"What should we do with them?"

"We can't turn them out; we need to look after them. Poor dears, they must be scared…" Jellylorum rubbed the back of her neck, thinking.

"I can look after them here in the junkyard… Pouncival is about their age so I think he will be okay with them…" explained Jellylorum. Jennyanydots smiled.

"That is a great idea Jelly!" Jellylorum just smiled.

"I try Jenny dear, I try."

Mistoffelees shook Etcetera and Victoria gently.

"Cettie, Vi'toria, wake up," he cooed. Etcetera's blue eyes opened slowly and she gave a small yawn.

"Stoffy?" she said softly. She stretched and sat up. "Where is mummy?" she asked. Mistoffelees shrugged.

"I dunno… I dun think she's coming back though…" he said softly. Etcetera's ears went flat.

"Is it because we are bad kittens? Does she hate us?" Mistoffelees looked down at Victoria and ran a hand over her sleeping head.

"Maybe not all of us…" he said softly. Etcetera looked at Victoria and she frowned.

"What is with sissy? Why doesn't she speak?" Mistoffelees shook his head.

"Dunno… Maybe the older queens could explain?" asked Mistoffelees. Etcetera stretched as she looked around.

"What older queens? I don't see anyone." Mistoffelees smiled as he shook Victoria.

"They went to talk to each other. Maybe they know where mummy is as well." Mistoffelees turned back to Victoria and kept shaking her. "Vi'toria, Vi'toria wake up!" The white queen turned over, her eyes slowly opening. She looked around and quickly got up. She felt a bit wobbly and she fell back down to a laying position. She looked around and caught the sight of Mistoffelees. She smiled up at him as she sat up slowly. "Morning Vi'toria!" Victoria's eyes became confused for a second, but they continued to show her happiness of seeing her brother.

"Vicky, say something!" cried Etcetera. Etcetera sat there as she watched Victoria just sit there, looking between her siblings. Etcetera let out a whine. "Vickkyyyy! If you don't start talking mummy may never come back!"

"She doesn't say anything because she cannot hear you." Mistoffelees and Etcetera turned around and noticed Jellylorum and Jennyanydots standing there. Jennyanydots walked closer. "She's deaf." Mistoffelees and Etcetera looked at each other.

"What do you mean? Everyone can hear," said Etcetera. Jennyanydots smiled sadly, shaking her head.

"No, not everyone can hear. It is rare that a cat is born deaf…" Jellylorum approached Victoria and held out her hand.

"Hello Victoria." Victoria looked at the hand then looked up at Jellylorum. She smiled and grabbed the hand, standing up. Etcetera wiggled her nose.

"How can you tell that she is deaf? Maybe she just hates us," whined Etcetera, laying on her stomach, her head on her hands.

"That isn't very nice Cettie," Mistoffelees said, batting at his sister's ear. Etcetera rolled over and batted at his hands.

"A clear sign is due to her eye color. She has blue eyes and a pink nose, plus her white fur is usually a sign that the cat is deaf." explained Jennyanydots. Etcetera sat up, her ears laying flat.

"Oh… Vicky I'm sorry!" she cried, leaping onto her sister. "I don't hate you!" Etcetera rubbed her head against Victoria's. Victoria's eyes were worried but she rubbed her head against Etcetera, a faint purr escaping. Mistoffelees pounced on his sisters, making Etcetera burst into giggles and made Victoria smile.

"Look at them… Who would ever want to give them up?" asked Jellylorum as she watched the kittens. Jennyanydots looked at the kittens, contemplating. She sighed and touched Jellylorum on the arm.

"Grizabella. Those are Grizabella's kittens," said Jennyanydots softly. Jellylorum looked at her friend, her eyes wide.

"Are you saying Grizabella had another set of kittens? How do you know?" she whispered.

"Because I helped deliver them…" Jellylorum put her hand to her mouth.

"Jennyanydots, you shouldn't have done that!"

"Was I supposed to let her have the kittens somewhere dirty? She might have lost the three of them. Or worse, Macavity could have found the kittens; you know what happened to Demeter." Jellylorum looked at the kittens then back at Jennyanydots.

"We can't let anyone know, it's too dangerous. If it gets out, they could be in danger…" whispered Jellylorum. Jennyanydots nodded.

"I agree…"

"I wish you would have told me…" said Jellylorum softly before she stepped away. "Kittens! Be careful!" Jennyanydots watched as her best friend walked away and felt ashamed. She wanted to tell her, but she knew the more cats who knew that the situation could end up dangerous. The fewer cats who knew Grizabella had more kittens the better.

"Now kittens until we can find your mother, you will be staying with me," explained Jellylorum. Mistoffelees sat up.

"Where are we going to stay?" he asked, his eyes traveling over the junkyard.

"I live over there," she said, pointing near the car. "There is a box back there under the car. I do have a kitten of my own and his name is Pouncival, just about your age actually," explained Jellylorum.

"Powcival?" asked Etcetera. "Wha kind of name is Powcival?" Etcetera giggled to herself and smiled. Jellylorum grinned.

"You may find it silly now, but he does live up to his name," explained Jellylorum. "There are other kittens in the junkyard too; they are Tumblebrutus, Plato, Electra and Jemima. Tumblebrutus is Jennyanydots' son." explained Jellylorum.

"What about the other three?" asked Mistoffelees. Jennyanydots looked at Jellylorum.

"Jemima is the sister of one of the other cats who live here, Bombalurina," began Jellylorum.

"But Plato and Electra are like you, they don't have a mommy. They live with other cats here though. Plato lives with Admetus and Electra lives with Skimbleshanks," explained Jennyanydots.

"Those are funny names!" cried Etcetera.

"Yes, well, they are names and we must live with them," said Jellylorum

"I like my name!" chirped Etcetera.

"Yes, yes… Are you little ones hungry?" asked Jellylorum.

"Yes um!" said Mistoffelees, his ears perking up.

"You stay right here and be good and we will go find something to eat, okay? Don't go too far," explained Jellylorum, pulling Jennyanydots with her.

"Shouldn't we leave someone with them?" asked Jennyanydots. Jellylorum smiled.

"No, they should be fine. Besides, I think it would be nice to let them be alone before the others start to wake up, especially the kittens…"

~*~

"This place is really big," said Etcetera, stretching. Mistoffelees nodded.

"Yeah… I wonder why mummy brought us here… Did she know we'd be taken care of?" said Mistoffelees, sitting down and looking around.

"Of course she did! She'll be back for us soon, she probably had to do something and left us with others to look after us!" exclaimed Etcetera.

"I wonder if the other kittens are nice," said Mistoffelees.

"I bet they are!" then Etcetera began to giggle. "With a name like Powcival… Hehehe what type of name is that anyway?" Etcetera felt her body hit the ground and a body on top of hers. She gave a small little scream and looked up at her attacker. A male kitten stared at her, a patch over his left eye that stretched across his nose.

"Cettie!" cried Mistoffelees.

"Pouncival is a fine name, what type of name is Cettie," said Pouncival, batting at Etcetera's ear.

"My name is E'cetera! Get'off!" she cried, trying to hit Pouncival's hand away. Pouncival laughed and got up. Etcetera sat up and glared at Pouncival then did her own attack by pouncing on him. She giggled as the two rolled around the ground together, batting and biting at each other. Mistoffelees laughed and was about to join in when he noticed something was wrong.

"Victoria?"

~*~

Victoria walked around the junkyard, leaving her siblings where they were at. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew that the older cats had walked away and she was very curious about where she was at. Several objects intrigued her, especially their usage. She found several objects she tried to figure out, but couldn't understand their purpose. They looked like they would be fun to play with, but they ended up not.

Her nose was starting to become overwhelmed with all the new scents. All the scents seemed nice, but there would be a small smell that just didn't go with the rest of them, and it frightened her. She would only find it at the darker places or places that seemed cut off from everyone else. As she walked she felt something different happen and she stopped. Her fur began to go on edge as she felt a change happen. She was scared, the scent was unfamiliar so it wasn't one of her siblings but it was something that was like her, she knew that for a fact. She tried to figure out what it was before it could find her, but she felt it was too late.

"Hello?" said a kitten, walking up behind Victoria. The kitten stopped and cocked his head, she didn't respond. He called out again, "Hello?" Still, there was no change. He walked towards her and noticed her body shift and then whirled around and looked at him. She was scared, her eyes were wide and her fur on end. The kitten's ears flattened as he felt sorry for her but smiled.

"Hi!" he chirped. "Who are you?" he asked. She didn't say anything or move, she stayed still. The kitten walked toward her and she stepped back. "Don't be scared, I live here! I live in the oven with my mummy, I'm Tumblebrutus, but you can call me Tumble… It's a long name," said the kitten as he walked towards Victoria. He smiled and held out his hand for her. "I'm friendly, see?" he said. Victoria just looked at him, unsure still. She really had never seen another one like her brother and was a little startled by the appearance of him.

Tumblebrutus tilted his head, she just wasn't budging. His ears perked up and he grinned.

"Hey! Watch this!" he shouted and ran to the junk and began to go through it. He found what he was looking for, a hula hoop, and showed it to Victoria. "Watch what I can do," he said. He climbed up some of the junk and threw the hula hoop up into the air, waited, then jumped through it and tumbled to the ground. He stood up but felt the hula hoop hit him in the head, making him fall back down. He stood up, rubbing his head but he heard a faint noise. He glanced over at the white kitten and noticed she had a smile on her face, her chest moving up and down like she was laughing. Tumblebrutus jumped up.

"You liked that? Wonderful!" he cried and started to walk to her, noticing she finally accepted him. "Come with me and I'll…" but he wasn't able to finish the sentence when someone pounced on him, sending him to the ground.

"You leave my sister alone!" hissed the cat and Tumblebrutus looked up and noticed a black and white cat holding him down.

"Vicky!" cried Etcetera, running to her sister, hugging her tightly. "Why did you run off?" she cried. Etcetera turned her eyes to Tumblebrutus. "Did you hurt her?" she hissed.

"No, no I didn't!" exclaimed Tumblebrutus. "She seemed lost and she wouldn't talk to me so I did a trick for her and she smiled then you showed up."

Victoria pulled herself away from her sister and walked over to Mistoffelees. She hugged him around the waist, slowly pulling as if to make him get off of Tumblebrutus. Mistoffelees looked at his sister and slowly got up and then hugged Victoria close.

"I believe you… Sorry about pouncing on you," said Mistoffelees. Tumblebrutus sat up and shrugged.

"It's okay," Tumblebrutus held out his hand. "I'm Tumblebrutus" Mistoffelees took his hand and shook it.

"Mistoffelees."

"Oh, oh! I'm Etcetera!" chirped Etcetera. Tumblebrutus smiled.

"Hey Cet." Etcetera wrinkled her nose.

"I don't think I like that nickname… Cettie works but Cet?" Tumblebrutus laughed and turned his attention to Victoria. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Victoria, her name is Victoria. She is…" but before Etcetera could finish, Mistoffelees added,

"Shy. She doesn't like speaking to others so she tends to ignore them," Etcetera looked at her brother and tilted her head.

"Misto, that isn't…"

"Kittens!" cried a voice. Tumblebrutus' ears perked.

"It's mom," he said.

"Ut-oh… We're going to be in trouble… We weren't supposed to leave the open area…" said Etcetera, swishing her tail back and forth.

"Let's go back," said Tumblebrutus, getting up and leading the way, the three siblings following.

~*~

"There you are! I told you to stay here!" cried Jellylorum as the four kittens entered the clearing by the tire. Jellylorum rushed to them but stopped. Mistoffelees, Etcetera and Victoria all huddled in a ball at the sudden movement and Etcetera let out a whimper.

"Please don't hurt us, we promise we won't do it again!" she cried, putting her hands over her ears. "We didn't mean it," Jellylorum touched Etcetera's head.

"Why would I hurt you? I was happy you were okay," she said softly. The three looked up, scared.

"Really?" asked Etcetera, sniffing. Jellylorum nodded. Etcetera sighed and hugged Jellylorum, rubbing her head against her stomach. Jellylorum rubbed Etcetera's head, smiling.

"Tumblebrutus come here," said Jennyanydots. Tumblebrutus sulked over to Jennyanydots and sat in front of her, his head down.

"I'm sorry for running away from the oven," he said flatly, something he had said several times in the past. Jennyanydots smiled and swatted his ear.

"Yes yes, you'll say that again tomorrow or later today, I know it." Tumblebrutus grinned. "What do you think about the new kittens?" Tumblebrutus turned his attention to the group, Etcetera hugging Jellylorum tightly with Mistoffelees laughing. Victoria just sat there, a small smile upon her face.

"I like them," he said, rubbing his head against his mother. "Where did they come from?" he asked. Jennyanydots scratched his head.

"We don't know dear, we don't know…" Jennyanydots hated lying, especially to her own kitten.

A/N: Sorry this took forever… This chapter is a bit longer to help introduce stuff… I'm actually surprised how long it really went… I couldn't find a good place to stop… Anyway… I hope to get Chp 3 up soon… Enjoy!


	3. A Disease

Chapter 3: A Disease

"Where did they come from Jenny?" asked Munkustrap, looking down at the kittens set before him.

"We found them this morning on the tire… Their mother abandoned them…" explained Jennyanydots. Munkustrap looked at the kittens.

"Well… This is a surprise. Who will be looking after them?" he asked.

"I will," said Jellylorum, smiling. "I feel they will get along with Pouncival and we cannot split them up between Jenny and I, they shouldn't be split," explained Jellylorum. Munkustrap gave a nod.

"That is true… It is unfortunate that they come now… So many kittens tonight at the ball…" he said softly.

"They can stay in the oven where Jenny or I can be watching them the entire time," said Jellylorum. Munkustrap gave a nod.

"Yes… That sounds good… We need to get back to decorating the junkyard for tonight… Where is everyone?" asked Munkustrap, looking around. "Oh no! Cassandra, that doesn't go there!" shouted Munkustrap and he got up and darted towards the sleek brown cat.

"You five go ahead and play," said Jennyanydots, "And stay out of trouble. Tonight is the Jellicle Ball and we don't need you to get in the way now. Come on Jelly."

"What are we going to do now?" asked Etcetera, scratching her ear.

"Let's play hide and seek!" said Pouncival, hopping up and down.

"Ooooh… That sounds fun!" Etcetera grinned and touched her nose "Not it!" she cried.

"What?" asked Tumblebrutus but before he knew it all the other kittens were touching their nose. "You all smell," he said, walking over to a corner and covering his eyes. He began to count and the other kittens scattered.

Victoria knew this game, she knew by how the cat turned his back and covered his eyes. She followed the other kittens then split from them, crawling into a small spot between a box and a trashcan. She crawled under a piece of white cloth and brought it over her head. She blended in so well, you wouldn't be able to tell she was there unless you really looked and saw her eyes. She smiled. She picked the best place; all she had to do was wait.

Tumblebrutus finished counting and looked around. Tumblebrutus scrunched up his nose. He knew where Pouncival would hide; he had played this game with him enough times to know his favorite hiding places… So he knew exactly where he needed to go to find him. Tumblebrutus made his way through the junkyard, his eyes looking as he walked, hoping to find the others while he looked for Pouncival. Unfortunately he didn't, because he found Pouncival in the first hiding place he always checked, in the pipe.

"Found you!" said Tumblebrutus, tagging Pouncival.

"Aww… How did you find me?" asked Pouncival, crawling out of the pipe after Tumblebrutus.

"Lucky guess, now help me find the others,"

The others were a bit harder to find because Tumblebrutus didn't know their hiding styles or favorite places. Etcetera was easy to find because she ended up giggling once they had passed her. Pouncival ended up pouncing on her, making her laugh more.

"No fair!" she cried, wiggling away from Pouncival. Tumblebrutus grinned and began to look the other two.

Mistoffelees was a bit harder to find, but Tumblebrutus found him hanging from a beam near some black fabric that hung down. The white on his tail, chest and face gave him away or he would have blended in quite well.

"I wish I was all black…" Mistoffelees said as he hopped down from his hiding place.

"Guess Victoria is the winner… Just need to find her and tell her," said Tumblebrutus. Mistoffelees looked at Tumblebrutus.

"She's pretty good at this game… She's very quiet so it will be harder to find her," he said but there was something strange in his voice that Tumblebrutus couldn't pick up on but shrugged it off.

"She's white, how hard can it be?" he asked, running off to find Victoria. Mistoffelees watched as he ran away and he felt a bit guilty. He was hoping Victoria wasn't going to pick up on the game they were playing and would just linger near the clearing, being the first to be picked but it seems she ended up hiding. He knew he should have stayed with her, making her hide near him so he could watch her but it never dawned on him to do that. He ran in the opposite way of Tumblebrutus, hoping to find Victoria quickly.

Victoria laid very still, her eyes keeping a look out for anyone to pass her. She had a plan, whenever she would see someone like her she would close her eyes and hope she wasn't seen. This plan worked once because her brother had ran right by her and didn't see at all. This made her happy that her strategy was working.

The sun began to move in the sky, making it close to the afternoon, the game had been going on for a half an hour and Victoria was still waiting for someone to find her. She was worried, did they forget about her? Was she invisible? She sat up, the white fabric sliding down her back. Where were they? She walked a bit, looking around. She couldn't exactly remember which way she had come to get to this spot so she began to walk, hoping to find her brother, sister, or two others she had met.

Tumblebrutus was confused. How could Victoria hide so well? She was white yet he couldn't find her at all. He could hear faintly Mistoffelees calling for her, so he feared that they were not playing the game anyone. Victoria was missing and she needed to be found.

"Victoria!" cried Tumblebrutus, running down a clear path. He jumped up onto some of the junk and began to walk across it, giving him a higher view to see if he could spot a white figure. He was happy that he did that, for he found a white cat sitting on a trash can lid not far from him. He jumped down and ran towards her.

"Victoria!" he shouted, coming up upon her back but she didn't move. "Victoria!" he shouted again.

Victoria sat on the trash can lid, tired and sad. She was lost and she didn't know where she was. No matter where she turned it was just junk, junk and more junk. She sniffed and felt her eyes go wet, feeling the wetness roll down her cheeks. She rubbed her face and sniffed again. Her ears twitched when she felt a small shake of the ground, it was coming behind her. She turned around and her chest seemed to release the tension it had built up when she noticed who it was. She sniffed again and began to cry. She didn't know why she was crying, but she was crying none the less.

"Victoria!" cried Tumblebrutus when he was close to her. She turned around, looked at him, and she began to cry. Tumblebrutus was confused, not knowing why she was crying.

"Why are you crying? We couldn't find you!" he said, giving her a stern look. "Why didn't you call out when I called for you?" He was taken back when Victoria hugged him, holding him tightly as she cried. Tumblebrutus was mad and confused. What was with her? She was the weirdest cat he had ever met and it made him mad that she would pull stupid stunts like this.

"We are all worried you disappeared! Mistoffelees is frantic, what do you have to say for yourself?" he asked. Victoria didn't answer. "Victoria!" he whined, pulling away from her. "Answer me," She just stared at him, wide eyed and frightened. Tumblebrutus was confused.

"Say something," Silence. "I won't be your friend anymore if you don't say sorry!" She still didn't say anything. Tumblebrutus was confused. "Shake your head if you understand me," he said but all Victoria did was sniff and blink, never shaking her head. Tumblebrutus pulled back from her. She couldn't hear him. This was wrong, this was horribly wrong!

"Oh heavyside... You can't hear me!" he shouted, backing away from her. Victoria looked at him and walked toward him. He didn't know why but he felt like getting away from her, leaving her where she was. Not hearing was not normal and all jellicles were normal. She was different and he didn't understand it. Was she evil? Was she going to hurt him? So many things ran through his mind before he noticed Victoria was touching his shoulder. He jerked away.

"No," he hissed, backing away, scared. Was he going to catch it too? Would being friends with her make him not hear as well? He couldn't do that, he couldn't give up hearing. He turned and ran, not caring if Victoria was following or not.

"Did you find her?" asked Mistoffelees. Pouncival shook his head.

"Nope! No sign!"

"Oh Vicky!" cried Etcetera, falling on her butt. "She always gets into trouble… At least with mum we lived in a big open area with few places to hide. This place has so many hiding spots we may never find her!"

"Look! Tumble!' shouted Pouncival. Mistoffelees looked and noticed a white figure running behind him.

"Victoria!" Tumblebrutus came into the clearing and ran straight to Pouncival. Mistoffelees ran to Victoria and pulled her into a tight hug.

"You found her Tumble! Good job!" said Etcetera, smiling at Tumblebrutus. She noticed that he was different and tilted her head to the side. "Tumble, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Your sister is wrong," he said.

"What do you mean? There isn't anything wrong with her," said Etcetera.

"She can't hear me! She can't hear and doesn't talk. How is that normal?" he asked, backing away. Pouncival looked at Tumblebrutus then looked at the other three.

"She was born with it!" cried Etcetera.

"What if she wasn't? What if it's a disease you can get? You two might have it right now… I might have it. I can't give up hearing, I just can't!" shouted Tumblebrutus. "I don't want to be friends with you, not if your sister is going to be around," he spat and began to leave. "Coming Pouncival?"

"Pouncy, you don't believe that do you?" asked Etcetera. Pouncival looked at Victoria then Etcetera.

"What if it is a disease?" he asked.

"You are crazy!" cried Etcetera, getting up and walking towards Pouncival.

"Stay away! How can I be sure?" asked Pouncival. He noticed Tumblebrutus walking away and followed him.

Etcetera let out a frustrating scream and kicked a box. She looked at Mistoffelees and Victoria. She glared at her sister.

"This is your fault! Why can't you be normal?" cried Etcetera.

"You know she can't help it," said Mistoffelees, holding Victoria close to him.

"How can we be sure? Maybe it is a disease? What if we get it Misto? We just lost two friends because of her! What if we can't make friends? I like the feeling of being around other kittens and now I don't have that… It's all her fault!" Etcetera walked to Victoria, glaring at her.

"Speak! Say something!" she cried but Victoria said nothing. Her smile slowly faded to a frown, unsure of what Etcetera was feeling, but she knew she wasn't happy.

"Vicky!!" Etcetera just looked at Victoria and turned away. "I can't do this… I was fine when it was just us three but now… She's the reason mum left… I…" Etcetera sniffed. "I can't take this!" she cried and ran off, disappearing into the junk.

Mistoffelees was a loss for words. They had just made friends that morning and now they were gone, gone because they found out Victoria was deaf. She couldn't help it, she was born with it. If it was a disease, wouldn't Jennyanydots and Jellylorum have warned them? Taken her away from them? She was his sister, someone he cared for deeply. His other sister just ran away because of Victoria. How did he handle that? How can he take a side in this type of a matter? He couldn't but he felt that he would protect Victoria because who else could? She couldn't protect herself let alone someone else… Etcetera could hear, she could scream but Victoria couldn't. He looked at sister in his arms and noticed she was crying. He couldn't understand why she was crying but felt that she could feel moods and it upset her. He rubbed the top of her head.

"Shhh… I'm still here," he said softly, knowing well enough she wouldn't be able to know. "I'm still here…"

~*~

A/N: I didn't want to stop the chapter here, I wanted to include the ball but this chapter ended on a note that felt like a good chapter end. This was NOT what I had intended when I started it but I knew that as kids if someone is different you don't understand why and you do not embrace the difference easily… The next chapter probably won't come out as quickly as this one though... Enjoy!


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